In many work environments, the discharge of static electric voltages from a worker's body to equipment or product under manufacture can be hazardous to the worker or may damage the equipment or product. One example of such a hazardous environment is a petrochemical factory where explosive gases may exist. Another example is a munition plant where the workers are directly handling explosive compounds. Also, the average worker in a typical electronics plant can easily damage components by discharging static electricity to these components. This is largely due to the extensive use of MOS integrated circuits which are very sensitive to high voltages. Not only can the high voltage of a static electricity discharge damage these components before being mounted on printed circuit boards, but also after they have been mounted on printed circuit boards.
Existing procedures for eliminating the build-up of static electricity on workers' bodies have been to remove conditions that foster static electric build-up and the grounding of the workers. The problem with attempting to remove the conditions that foster static electric build-up is that it is expensive and in general does not effectively prevent the build-up of static electricity. The problem with grounding the workers is that it is very inconvenient for the workers and limits their mobility. In addition, certain types of worker activities, such as transporting printed circuit cards or racks of equipment throughout a manufacturing plant, do not lend themselves to the grounding of the workers. Another problem with attempting to ground the workers is the problem of the workers forgetting to do so.